525600 Moments
by gonegonegoneforever
Summary: [Sonadow] There are 525,600 minutes in a year and every minute is another chance to tell someone exactly how you feel about them.


**Author's Note:**

I was listening to '_Seasons of Love_' and couldn't help, but become entranced by the lyrics. Inspired and insanely devoted to this newfound craze I wrote a small, unimportant piece.

I wasn't planning on writing this so early on or even uploading it, but sometimes creativity has to be released before it can be gained.

As usual, it will be another Sonic x Shadow story. I just adore that pairing. It's cute and adorable, much like those peaches I ate…

_This story was not beta or edited by any other being in the entire world other than myself. All mistakes are solely mine._

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sonic or anything related to it – other than this story.

**---**

**525, 600 Moments**

_How do you measure a year?_

**---**

It had been happening for almost a year now and it had all started with a rose and an accompanying letter placed neatly on his window sill.

The letters were always handwritten in an overly extravagant script that carried the delicate scent of roses.

Today he woke up and found such a letter set up neatly on his table, but something was missing. Emerald green eyes scanned the tabletop in search of the missing piece, but it wasn't until he picked up the letter he realized what it was. The rose wasn't attached to the letter this time.

Curious to find the answer, he opened the flap and slipped the letter out. He could smell the faint scents that lingered briefly on the letter before washing away with the wind. His eyes drank in the words. It was a simple letter reading:

_364 roses have been delivered thus far, to reply look at the stars from the closest park. _

It was a simple line and unlike the previous letters it offered no words of love or admiration, but a fact and a destination. Sonic glanced up from the letter and turned to look at the vase of roses he kept on his window. Every red petal was glistening from the morning dew, but today it looked more beautiful than any other day.

He smiled as he slipped the letter into his desk, knowing that tonight was going to be different – special.

---

"My, don't _you_ look happy today!" Rouge noted suspiciously as she took another bite of toast, making sure to keep her eyes on the blue hedgehog. Something was up, she could feel it.

"Oh, I'm just glad that Knuckles finally gave up on being a cook," the hedgehog responded heartily as he took another bite of the waffles, savoring the fluffy golden taste.

The red echidna dropped his utensils, letting them fall noisily onto the plates. His violet orbs were flashing dangerously. "Are you saying that I can't _cook_!"

Silence fell on the group as several pair of eyes snapped themselves onto Sonic, anxiously waiting for his response and secretly praying that the hedgehog wouldn't further anger Knuckles. The azure hedgehog spared a brief glance at his less than rational buddy before taking a nice long drink from his milk, thoroughly enjoying the cool sensation running through his mouth. He really couldn't be bothered with Knuckles right now and he really didn't want to deal with this either…

"Why don't you sit down and be thankful that the gods have given at least one of us the gift of making an edible meal?"

Ah, the accursed statement had been made and a slight tremor shook the house. Everyone was preparing to flee at the first sign of danger, but Shadow continued to eat as if nothing had happened.

Then it happened. A red blur flew across the table, aiming straight for the black hedgehog's head. "Why, I'm gonna pound you so hard you're…"

"Going to make me into Pound Cake?" The Ultimate Lifeform finished, a frown etching itself onto his face. Before anyone had a chance to react Knuckles was sent into the deeper parts of hell by a silver fork. The echidna struggled to free himself from the wall as he pulled and tugged at the handle, desperately trying to rid himself of the utensil. Silence reigned over the group as they stared in surprise and amusement. Somehow, someway, Shadow had managed to do the undoable.

Knuckles was pinned to the wall with nothing more than a silver fork.

"When I get out of this mess I am going to make you regret ever surviving that fall," Knuckles snarled angrily as he hung limply from the wall, defeated by a fork.

"You do that and I will chaos control your ass to the underworld."

The tension slowly dispelled itself as Rouge gently freed the echidna and his wounded pride from the wall. As the group resumed eating, Rouge couldn't help, but notice the wide smile on Sonic's face. Something was definitely going on and she was going to get to the bottom of this.

"Judging from that abnormally wide smile, you must have gotten yourself a sweet date. Is it Amy?" Rouge shot out blindly as she gave him a sweet smile, carefully observing his expression.

The blue hedgehog gave a faint blush as he began stuffing toast and waffles into his mouth, his eyes crinkling with joy. There was no way he could answer her question without giving everything away so might as well eat to avoid answering, right?

"Hey, hey!"

A hand slapped him on the back of his hand, causing Sonic to choke a little. The azure creature looked up to see Shadow wiping away bits of waffles from his face, disgusted by Sonic's eating habits. "God, what is _wrong_ with you today? And…please, do save some food for the rest of us," the red and black hedgehog grumbled as he tossed the napkin back at Sonic before leaving the table in a huff.

There was a short period of silence that had descended upon the group and everyone was eyeing Sonic nervously because Shadow never left the breakfast table without eating. _Never_.

Finally, the good-natured fox broke the silence by offering some toast to Cream. At once the breakfast cheer resumed and everyone was busy stuffing their faces with either food or the latest gossip. Ah, it was a normal day again or as normal as it ever got around the house.

---

"Where do you think you're going?"

Sonic froze in mid step as he slowly turned his head. Sitting in one of the armchairs with an open book was Rouge, dressed in a shimmering violet nightgown. Her face was free of all make-up, giving her a nice natural look.

"Uh…I couldn't sleep. I'm going to run around before I get back," he answered sheepishly as he nervously readjusted his black scarf.

"You're going to run look like _that_?" Disbelief littered her voice as she examined the hedgehog. He was wearing a black scarf with a matching outfit. No, Rouge wasn't stupid and nothing about that outfit looked remotely sporty.

"Um…It's cold. You know, don't want to be sick and all…"

Rouge raised a questioning eyebrow before shrugging and returning her attention to her book knowing that it simply wasn't worth knowing about.

---

It was a bit chilly outside, but Sonic would live. It was one of those breezes that would cut into your skin, but leave you with a refreshing new feel. It was just the thing Sonic needed to calm his nerves.

The blue hedgehog paced nervously, looking up into the sky every once in a while. His heart wouldn't stop beating and his head was spinning a thousand and one questions every second. He wasn't used to feeling anxious, wasn't used to just waiting and not knowing for what.

His emerald green eyes darted nervously from each passing face to another. Couples were strolling along the paths, laughing and holding each other's hands with a smile on their faces. Smiles that seem to say: I have a secret and no one, but you know.

A soft smile broke onto his face as he watched people walk leisurely by, but still it didn't help eradicate the nervous energy building up inside of him. It was starting to get dark and as he checked his watch, he noticed that there was only 5 minutes left before midnight. Perhaps he had misunderstood the letter, maybe he wasn't supposed to be here…

"Would you please stop walking back and forth like some mental patient, faker?"

Sonic jumped a mile high as he spun around, his eyes darting right and left searching for the source of that voice. At first it didn't look like anyone else was nearby, but on a closer look he could see Shadow sitting on the bench with his arms cross and the usual frown plastered squarely on his face.

The blue hedgehog took the seat beside Shadow, while rubbing his arms to keep warm. He hadn't expected the night to be this cold hell; it was colder in the city than in some of the forests! The elder hedgehog glanced over at the shivering blue mass sitting beside him before rolling his eyes in irritation and draped his trench coat over Sonic.

Surprise sparked in Sonic's eyes as he felt the heavy weight of the coat fall over him. He tilted his head towards Shadow questioningly.

"You were cold."

Sonic studied the other hedgehog's face. The normally apathetic expressions were replaced with one of slight unease, but his posture stated differently. He was leaning against the back of the bench and wearing an unusual set of clothes. He had on a silky black button shirt that was left unbutton, revealing an oversized white t-shirt hanging slightly below the waist, covering the top of khaki shorts. What was with this getup?

"What are you looking at, faker?"

A lopsided grin spilled onto his face as he shrugged before leaning against the wooden bench, his eyes scanning the millions of stars. "Just wondering why you were dressed like that. Going on a date or something?"

He shut his eyes; half expecting another backhanded slap or punch to the face, but none came. He opened one of his eyes to find Shadow staring off into space, his eyes clouded over with thoughts, but as quickly as the expression had came on it was gone. A pair of crimson red eyes glared at him before giving the snappy remark:

"I could ask you the same with that get up, faker."

A small apologetic smile slipped onto Sonic's face as he turned away and buried himself inside of Shadow's coat which smells faintly of roses…

Roses!

Emerald green eyes snapped onto the ebony creature sitting beside him, scrutinizing his every movement. Something just didn't feel right, something felt oddly out of place…

"Sonic, how many minutes are in a year?"

The blue hedgehog snapped out of daze as he tried to figure it out, multiplying the number of minutes in an hour and… Wait! Shadow had just called him by his name and not faker this or faker that…

Suspicion dawned on him as he narrowed his eyes, uncertain of what was going on…

"There are 525,600 minutes in a year…"

_Exactly what is going on here? _

"And for every minute people are given a chance to express themselves meaning that there are 525,600 moments to share these feelings within the span of a year…"

Sonic stood up before handing the coat back to Shadow and searching among the sea of people, hoping to find what he was suppose to be looking for.

"And within a year there are 365 days meaning 365 chances to tell someone how much they mean to you."

There was a soft tap on Sonic's shoulder and as he spun around he saw a single lone rose dancing before him in Shadow's hands. "365 days to express how I felt and today in exactly 10 seconds would be the last day belonging to this year."

Before Sonic could say anything in response the elder hedgehog leaned in and gave him a quick, but tantalizing kiss. As he pulled away, a whispered phrase sounded in his ears.

"_Sonic, I love you – Happy New Year._"

_---_

_In roses and kisses…_

**THE END**

**--- **

Ending Note:

Ah, that was…pretty fun to write. I never knew that one-shots could inspire so many ideas. Although I'm not too fond on how it flowed, I'm slowly learning what works and what doesn't. Hopefully, when the New Year actually does roll around I can have a revamped version or something…

I wish I was a better writer that way; these words wouldn't have to sound so hollow to me.

I think I suffer from low self-esteem. Eh, I'll get over it. :3


End file.
